Speaking to the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday, CIA official Stephanie O’Sullivan said that President Obama had actually been brief about the “instability” in Egypt late last year, though they had no information that such a massive revolution would arise, nor what form it might take.
US officials had been similarly caught unawares by the Tunisian Revolution last month, giving rise to growing questions about the massive US intelligence community’s complete lack of intelligence related to what is becoming a region-altering popular uprising.
Publicly the White House is insisting that everything is fine and that nothing amounted to an “intelligence failure,” but private reports have President Obama “disappointed with the intelligence community” over the clear lack of predictions.
The massive surveillance of social media and record intelligence budgets have given rise to the belief that this sort of thing should have been predicted, but might speak not so much to officials’ lack of attention as their lack of understanding for the notion that average citizens are just generally unhappy to live under oppressive “president-for-life” dictators. This would explain not just the intelligence failures but the continued US funding for such regimes.
"US officials had been similarly caught unawares-"
A tradition that dates back to at least WWII:
Pearl Harbor catches US officials unaware.
Chinese entry into Korean war catches US officials unaware.
Tet Offensive catches US officials unaware.
Collapse of USSR catches US officials unaware.
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait catches US officials unaware.
9/11 catches US officials unaware.
Housing bubble catches US officials unaware.
And the list goes on and on and on. These idiots can't see a freight train baring down on them in broad daylight, yet we are told that the people who can't see the obvious are the "best and brightest" the US has to offer. At any other point in history, has such stupidity even been so richly rewarded?
US officials don't give a damn about anything but the pockets of corporations and US world dominance:
By the way a very cute, simple youtube video about how Hawaii was stolen and how imperialism works without any respect for national and international laws:
The photo of Hillary Clinton and her previous future plan for Egypt (son of Mubarak): http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/07/09/wo…
and to justify all the continued funding for "intelligence" agencies of the US is laughable. Maybe if one of the spooks had a FB account or Twitter they could have seen this coming.
"Iraqi invasion of Kuwait catches US officials unaware.
9/11 catches US officials unaware."
With regard to these two, US officials were not unaware. On the contrary, the were instrumental in the orchestration of those two events.
Pt 1
As usual- a day late and a dollar short. Why are we paying our intelligence services so many billions of dollars when they failed to see this coming? Why did they fail to see 9/11 coming? Are we so arrogant that we think nothing can touch us and therefore there's no reason to plan for future calamities?
We've already seen that the US is indeed 'touchable' and it's a direct result of our meddling around the world. We're to the point where our own citizens are taking matters into their own hands and taking the government to task in gruesome ways (OKC comes to mind). Why? Loss of standing in the world, lack of a coherent domestic policy, the job market shrinking, the jobs we do have being outsourced overseas, tax dollars going to support regimes who agendas are clearly not in America's best interest (Israel comes to mind) – pick a reason. The lack of faith in our government is finally settling in and it won't be long before the hopelessness comes to a head and we see marches in the streets demanding change- REAL change, not just platitudes to soothe the masses.
Pt 2
The questions we need to ask ourselves are pretty simple: When is enough ENOUGH, and what are we prepared to do about it?
Lead, follow, or get out of the way- change is coming, and to paraphrase an old maxim: When peaceful revolution is denied, violent revolution is inevitable. Will you be able to tear yourself away from American Idol or Dancing with the Stars long enough to get involved?
We waste an awful lot of money on an "intelligence" service that never sees ANYTHING coming.
Of course, as we see on any big issue like Iranian nukes, the 'intel' that's delivered by the beauracracy is what the decision makers want to hear.
No one in DC wants to hear that our dictatorships are going to fall. Therefore, the intel does not see this coming
Sorry Mr. Mohammad, our men are nothing but couch potato's.
CIA, ever the first to be surprised.
Constantly In Arrears on the intelligence the rest of us can read.
I visited the USSR in 1984 for a week at a cost of $350, all inclusive from London. It took me a week to realize that the whole evil empire take over the world was the USG/MIC, Mafia Industrial Complex, propaganda to force contributions, withholding taxes, for the Pentagon protection racket scheme of 'fund US, the Pentagon, for protection or else……! Al Capone is smiling in syphilis hell because the USG/MIC is gangsterism a crime made legal government. Anyway, some of the clues that made me realize the USSR wasn't a threat to the world: dirt side streets in Moscow; non potable water in Leningrad; electronic parts dept at GUMS vacuum tubes; the Russian whom invented the automatic choke hadn't been born yet. These are just the obvious. Also, the only thing the KGB had on the TSA was good manners. Also the Lada cabs in Moscow didn't have heaters and the Lada cabs in Jamaica traded for sugar, had air conditioning and heaters.
You forgot to mention bears in the street.
I don't know where in 1980's Moscow you found dirt ROADS, not foot paths in the outskirts of the city. Soviet transistor based consumer electronics appeared in the 1960's. Somehow I survived drinking water from the public plumbing in a city 1/20 the size of Leningrad, and back then it was cleaner than it is now. And not every vehicle made in the USSR was called "Lada".
This ends my reply to an off topic post.
Exceptionalism, indispensability and all other traits of racist bigots at its best. They figured that brown people are meant to be slaves and ruled over by the new "master" race. Thanks and kudos to BRAVE Egyptians at Liberty square who are also defending our rights to LIBERTY.
What B.S. Who in the Middle East benefits from all this instability?
these are the people who peak playing hide N seek and still get it wrong. oh well if they did not do this they would be home beating their wives and kids
Doesn't matter. It's under control… suckers…
From the NYT
Speaking to a security conference in Munich on Saturday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said it was important to support Mr. Suleiman as he sought to defuse street protests
“That takes some time,” Mrs. Clinton said. “There are certain things that have to be done in order to prepare.” Ms. Clinton’s message, echoed by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, appears to reflect worries that rapid change in Egypt could destabilize the country and the region.
Propaganda. Cranked out all at once and pure bullshit. The more people think them incompetent and behind the curve the better.
The US cut funding of a pro-democracy program for egypt not too long before this all happened. It seems that they did see it coming and tried to stop it
http://www.haaretz.com/news/obama-cuts-funds-to-p…